A. Species
Scientific name: Panthera pardus (pardus)
Common name(s): Leopard
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status:
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Mozambique
- Caprivi Strip
- Namibia (main part)
- Tanzania, United Republic of
- Eastern Cape Province
- Northern Cape Province
- Western Cape
- KwaZulu-Natal
- Free State
- Gauteng
- Mpumalanga
- Limpopo Province
- North-West Province
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Country/Region: Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: Regional/Continental/Multi-country level
Name/Details of location: Records from Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 2011
End Year: 2020
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Hunting and/or Trapping of live terrestrial and aerial animals
Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: The whole entire organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Collection/display and Recreation
Motivation of use: Recreational
Is this use legal or illegal?: Some use is legal and some is illegal
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: International external
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: The report discuses that Leopards are persecuted in retaliatory conflict due to their real and perceived threat to livestock. Under these circumstances, trophy hunting may promote tolerance toward leopards and other large carnivores and reduce poaching. Furthermore, the income generated from, and the land allocated to, leopard trophy hunting may improve conservation efforts and aid in the recovery of declining populations. Tolerance may therefore be crucial to their survival in unprotected areas, where growing human population densities may lead to increased human–wildlife conflict. On the other hand, ethical and welfare considerations regarding the killing of animals for recreation and trophies, as well as issues relating to social disruption, artificial selection of particular traits, localized population declines, unsustainable off-takes, and violations of permitted activities have all been pointed to as problematic by trophy hunting opponents. These issues and associated controversies can seriously compromise the potential role trophy hunting could play as an effective tool for biodiversity conservation.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: The report discuses that Leopards are persecuted in retaliatory conflict due to their real and perceived threat to livestock. Under these circumstances, trophy hunting may promote tolerance toward leopards and other large carnivores and reduce poaching. Furthermore, the income generated from, and the land allocated to, leopard trophy hunting may improve conservation efforts and aid in the recovery of declining populations. Tolerance may therefore be crucial to their survival in unprotected areas, where growing human population densities may lead to increased human–wildlife conflict. On the other hand, ethical and welfare considerations regarding the killing of animals for recreation and trophies, as well as issues relating to social disruption, artificial selection of particular traits, localized population declines, unsustainable off-takes, and violations of permitted activities have all been pointed to as problematic by trophy hunting opponents. These issues and associated controversies can seriously compromise the potential role trophy hunting could play as an effective tool for biodiversity conservation.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Details of assessment carried out: study does not record this
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: study does not record this
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: The report discuses that Leopards are persecuted in retaliatory conflict due to their real and perceived threat to livestock. Under these circumstances, trophy hunting may promote tolerance toward leopards and other large carnivores and reduce poaching. Furthermore, the income generated from, and the land allocated to, leopard trophy hunting may improve conservation efforts and aid in the recovery of declining populations. Tolerance may therefore be crucial to their survival in unprotected areas, where growing human population densities may lead to increased human–wildlife conflict. On the other hand, ethical and welfare considerations regarding the killing of animals for recreation and trophies, as well as issues relating to social disruption, artificial selection of particular traits, localized population declines, unsustainable off-takes, and violations of permitted activities have all been pointed to as problematic by trophy hunting opponents. These issues and associated controversies can seriously compromise the potential role trophy hunting could play as an effective tool for biodiversity conservation.
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
Monitoring trophy hunter online postings may become increasingly useful as social media usage grows, and provide valuable insight into this multi-million dollar industry.
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2022-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Date of record entry: 2022-11-14